Artistic Director Karen Barg is a versatile violinist with over twenty years of professional experience as a soloist, performing with passion and heart that add musical elegance to any event

About KAREN Barg

Karen Barg has performed with a vast array of musicians including the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, Sarah Brightman, Il Divo, Michael Bolton, Anne Murray, Winnipeg’s own Fred Penner and Don Amero. She has professional recording experience with bands such as Indicator Indicator and Don Amero. Karen studied solo violin performance at the University of Manitoba and McGill University. She has studied privately with Joanne Martin, Jack Glatzer, Lorand Fenyves, Gwen Hoebig, Madame Gho, and Guillaume Tardif. She has extensive Suzuki teacher training, held the position of Program Coordinator for Suzuki Music Winnipeg for five years, and enjoys teaching a full Suzuki violin studio.

Karen Barg has always exceeded my expectations with her own creative approach and ideas to lend to a project. Her knowledge of different instruments, notation, arrangements, and playing styles is a huge asset.

Karen is easy to work with and comes to the table with new ideas that spark our collaborations. As a member of my band since 2010, she brings her exuberant violin and vocal talent to the stage, enhancing the performances with strong solo work and clean, clear hamonies. It is a joy to work with such a passionate and enthusiastic performer.

— Fred Penner, Musician, Order of Canada, Order of Manitoba

The Luminous String Quartet’s performance was amazing. Karen, Artistic Director, went above and beyond her commitment to my show. I would recommend Luminous to anyone looking for a great string quartet or any musician looking for good arrangements.

— Don Amero, Juno Nominee and Manitoba Country Music Award Winner

Karen Barg is a classically trained violinist with a range spanning genres as diverse as country, heavy metal, top 40, and standard jazz

‘The Gates on Roblin’ is a prestigious restaurant and wedding venue. We deal with many great musicians and talented performers on a regular basis. Luminous String Quartet is just that - great musicians that perform amazing music for our guests and events. However, behind the scenes, they are also efficient in their setup, reliable and punctual, courteous to our other vendors, and extremely respectful to our staff and on site coordinators. This warrants a little extra mention and a huge thank you!!

— Ray Louie, Co-owner of The Gates on Roblin

We hired Luminous String Quartet to play during our wedding ceremony. Karen was incredibly accommodating and professional throughout the whole planning process, and offered great advice and suggestions for music selection during the different parts of the ceremony. You can tell that she is passionate about the work that she does and committed to making the wedding ceremony perfect through the services provided. Luminous has a very diverse range of repertoire to choose from which allowed the selections we chose to be very personal to us and tailored to the musical styles that we enjoy. I would highly recommend them to anyone looking for a quartet.